Study Finds iPad's Cheapest in U.S., UK Customers Pay the Most

A new study has found that the costliest places to purchase Apple’s iPad are Britain and many places across Europe. On average the study found that the prices were typically around 25% higher than prices in the U.S., leading analysts to wonder “whether Apple has priced its product too high for the European market, or whether the UK pound and euro need to depreciate further to bring global pricing into line.”

For the cheapest WiFi version of the device, prices range from $499 in the U.S to $620 in Britain, with many countries somewhere in between including Canada at $520.

So why the higher pricing in Britain and Europe? The obvious local taxes and shipping costs obviously play a role, but Craig James, chief economist at the CommSec share trading division of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank further explains,

“More generally, the CommSec iPad and CommSec iPod indexes suggest the U.S. dollar needs to lift against major currencies, but more so against the Euro and pound sterling,” James said.

It seems like the pricing of the iPad internationally, however, has not done much to stunt the excitement for the device with international launch events being met with crowds comparable to the U.S. launch.